Strengthen Your Online Presence: Easy Steps, Handy Apps
There is something we call the X factor. No, not the competition series with Simon Cowell, but that intangible and undefinable thing that makes certain people pop out of the crowd. Once those people walk into the room, they grab all theattention. But how to do that in the virtual environment online? Well, the good news is that if you don’t have real life X factor, you can create one online. So what you can do to strengthen your online presence and be the best you can be? Here are a few recommendations.
Search Engine Optimization
No matter how good your website is, if it does not show on the search engines, there are very slight chances that it will attract new clients or readers. We talked a lot about SEO, but for those who don’t know, the geist of it is, the higher the rank of your website is, before it will show in search engines. Nearly half of the online consumers are using search engines for products and services. There is enormous difference between being on the first and second Google page, so giving it an extra mile is worth it.
Make a Blog
Having an external or a site-based companion blog has many advantages. It can be your place where you can communicate with visitors, inform them on updates and news or any other features. You can use it to increase your SEO by adding new content and links. There are several rules for blogs, but two of the most important are that you update regularly and that you read and answer on comments. Biggest advantage is that sometimes blog can be a less constricted than your site, so feel free to expand your topics. And use RSS feeds!
Social Networks
Best, most obvious and easiest way to reach out to the public, without spending a fortune, is via social networking sites. They are predisposed with a lot of people that are connected, so online networking is very easy. They have a half-way built in marketing and who does not like making things easier? However, you can also include social features on your web site, so that people can share the content directly from your page.
There are other options that are outside social networks, but are still related to them. For example, Followgram.me will help you with your Instagram. If you want a bit more serious approach to your Instagram photos, this will allow you to browse and manage them in a more professional way and even show some statistics.
On the other hand, if you prefer Twitter, you should definitively try Hashtagify.me. It will help you in riding your audience through hashtags. It allows you to search through hashtags based on popularity, language, influencers, relationships and other metrics. Both of these mentioned tools are free and there are much more.
Mobilize Yourself
All of social media advice will allow you to become more mobile brand. It is recommendable, that in today’s world where smartphones are a norm, that you have your site in mobile form. Try to make things interactive and you will not be bound to laptops and computers. Social media is more and more used over mobile devices so getting them from there to your site will be seamless if you prepared the terrain for that. Updates can be instant and recommendations taken immediately.
Professional/Personal
Besides creating your online professional identity, if your job brand isn’t you, you should separate your professional and personal identity online. Even if you are your brand, you will want to have an anonymous account where you can vent. Everybody does that from time to time. This is a preventive advice, because a wild status or message can flush your reputation down the toilet. However, if you don’t want to have multiple accounts, many social networks have options so that only your friends see what you did on your Vegas trip.
There are many more advice, depending on what do you want to do online, but these are advices that are universal to almost anybody who have an online life. Use them wisely and to your advantage!
